Chigarini: I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis called Vettel

      Fans who have followed Formula 1 for at least the past ten years probably remember the unpleasant incident that occurred in Ferrari's pits during the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix. Francesco Cigarini, one of the Scuderia's mechanics, suffered a fairly serious injury, and at the time the motorsport press covered the incident and its aftermath in detail.

      Cigarini, who no longer works at the Scuderia, compared Lewis Hamilton's current situation to Sebastian Vettel's early period with the Italian team on Sky Italia.

      The four-time world champion raced for the Scuderia from 2015 after a highly successful stint with Red Bull Racing and, of course, intended to achieve further success—this time behind the wheel of the red cars. However, he did not manage to fulfil that dream.

      Now, ten years later, Lewis Hamilton is also clearly struggling at Ferrari, and Cigarini believes this is partly linked to attempts to adapt to the setups Charles Leclerc uses.

      "Leclerc prefers the car to be set up very precisely, but with a very free rear, which requires the driver to feel all the nuances of the car's behavior very accurately," Cigarini explained. "When Vettel tried to copy this approach to setups (Kimi Räikkönen's preferences were in some ways comparable to how Leclerc sets up his car), he looked like a rookie driver. I think that's what's happening to Hamilton now. And I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis called Vettel to try to figure this out."

      However, Frédéric Vasseur, the head of the Ferrari team, believes Hamilton's problems are somewhat exaggerated, a perception aided by the British driver's tendency toward self-criticism and dramatization.

      In any case, it is unlikely the situation can be significantly changed this season, and all of Lewis's hopes are pinned on 2026.

      "We have all the necessary ingredients to fight for wins and to win the championship," Hamilton said after the Hungarian Grand Prix.